Incidentally I don't think this is actually evolution; more learned behavior. They repeat the tone we respond to the most. My cat also bites my foot when he wants attention because he has learned that it's hard for me to ignore.
Cats were perfectly positioned to coexist with humans - they eat the pests that feed on our grain, aren't large enough to be much of a threat, aren't a good food source, and are soft and nice to pet. Explains why they self-domesticated more than once in different parts of the world!
Domesticated is a bit of a stretch, especially when we often hope they still hunt rodents. 😜
They tolerate us, and maybe often love us, but would not hesitate to survive without us.
Cats are independent people that choose to continue to live with you because it’s nice. Most of them can find a way out if they want it.
They repeat the tone we respond to the most.
I once had a cat that learned to imitate my text message notification sound (at the time it was Tiny Tina saying "pooow") just to get my attention. He would also scream his lungs out if he thought no one was home.
That's a great tone!
That's a worthy distinction. The genetic vs the social. I'll allow it.
I don't think they sound particularly like a human baby because I can't stand the sound of a human baby crying but when my cat talks I melt into a useless gibbering ~~idiot~~ food dispenser.
Yeah it's one of those internet myths. What they do is mimic their own baby sounds aka meow even when they're adults but that's not really a manipulation tactic. We infantilize them by caring for them and they in turn display some of their infant behaviours. Adult tigers in captivity meow too.
Worse than that, it's something incels tell each other about why women aren't having babies. Because they have cats that satisfy the maternal urge.
For the record, babies crying- doesn't matter if I've given birth to it or not- is not a "cute" sound. It is an enraging sound. It makes us move quickly because we hate it.
If we thought baby cries were cute things we wanted to listen to, we wouldn't hurry to help the child, and that would completely defeat the purpose of it.
Somebody should infiltrate the incel community and convince them that they can get women by dressing up like cats and making baby sounds
That sounds like the Florida Man headline I'd like to see xD
If we loved the sound of babies crying we'd have foxes not cats.
I welcome my new ~~overlord~~ pet with open arms 🥰
I’m pretty sure we provided them food and shelter because they catch rodents, not because they “mimic babies” (??)
Mimicry in nature is never intentional on the conscious part of the mimic though (ok exception is maybe octopi). It evolves like that because it works. Perhaps cats are evolving to become more cute.
Mimicry not, but a lot of "cute" behaviour is absolutely learned. If our dog wants something, she pokes you with her paw while making a cute face. Must have learned that from her previous owners. Our previous dog (who we had for much longer) never did that. That shit is 100% conscious effort, as in she observed humans tapping each other on the shoulder and figuring out that it works for her as well.
They probably are, but that’s because of selective breeding.
I think baby-like facial features are just a part of the domestication syndrome. There has been this long-going domestication experiment with silver foxes that could show that when only selected for tameness the foxes still expressed most of the traits found in other domesticated animals, too.
Belyaev was correct that selection on tameness alone leads to the emergence of traits in the domestication syndrome. In less than a decade, some of the domesticated foxes had floppy ears and curly tails (Fig. 2).
Over the course of the experiment, researchers also found the domesticated foxes displayed mottled “mutt-like” fur patterns, and they had more juvenilized facial features (shorter, rounder, more dog-like snouts) and body shapes (chunkier, rather than gracile limbs) (Fig. 3).
The process of cats domesticating humans was a a very long con job.
Why not both???
My cat taught me to be patient in the face of stupidity, and that sometimes you will love something that is fully out of your control and unpredictable. She's very cuddly though, so everything is forgiven, lol.
Best variation yet
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